The necessity for the stable support of a conduit during fabrication of building structures has long been recognized, and this ongoing need has been addressed in the patent art. One group of patents relate to clamping devices that secure the conduit along the face of a wall or other structural surface, and the clamps are designed to remain exposed and accessible after construction is complete. Among these patents is U.S. Pat. No. 991,192 dating back to 1910, as well as later U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,826,385, 2,884,214 and 3,149,808.
A construction requirement exists where the conduit becomes fully covered and embedded in the fabricated structure's material (i.e. a concrete foundation) by the construction process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,534 discloses a clamping apparatus for rigidly holding sewer pipes in a trench, where the pipe, as well as its support, are completely surrounded when the trench is backfilled with sand, gravel or comparable materials. U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,534 discloses a pipe support mounted on a structure's foundation where the casting material then embeds both the pipe and the pipe support into the finished structure. It will be noted that these patents solely disclose horizontal runs, and that the support mechanism becomes completely captive in the construction process, so that no part of the support apparatus is retrievable after being covered by the added material. Accordingly, the entire conduit support device is expendable, and its use involves unrecoverable material costs.